


Twisted Zanpakuto

by LilySpears



Series: Bleach: The Next Generation [3]
Category: Bleach
Genre: Drama, Gen
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-08-08
Updated: 2017-08-07
Packaged: 2018-12-12 16:20:30
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 3,212
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11740701
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LilySpears/pseuds/LilySpears
Summary: Years after the Winter War, the Soul Society has rebuilt itself from the ground up. The Squads are thriving, and the next generation is in trainingBut, what happens when the forgotten past doesn't want to stay forgotten?





	1. Prologue

**Author's Note:**

> This story is the first sequel to Stole. Kyoraku Emiko and Kuchiki Takahiro belong to Algernon Fenton. I owe Ayasegawa Yukihime 
> 
> Bleach of course belongs to Tite Kubo

**_Twisted Zanpakuto_ **

**Prologue _:_**

_The Winter War had ended. Aizen had finally fallen at Ichigo’s hand. He was gone, sealed away and buried deep within the bowels of Muken. Tousen and Gin had also fallen, slain by those once called friends. Their bodies were no more, now soul particles drifting over the battle ruins. Soul Society was shaken to its core. The peace shattered, the wounds of betrayal fresh and raw. The damage caused to the Soul City and its people would run deep, remaining a shameful scar. Though the traitors were gone, the memories of their crimes would not be so easily forgotten. Gotei 13 stood on unstable foundations, the Captains once trusted above all now called into question._

_The Squads stood uneasy, working together in silence to rebuild their tattered lives._  
_Many wished to simply put the war behind them. The Squads of the former captains felt shame, even guilt for events they couldn’t have possibly prevented. They tried to ignore the aftermath, hide from the truth. But the truth remained. The traitors would not be easily forgotten. Reminders appeared everywhere. A tattered orange scarf was found in the rubble of the Fake Karakura Town, blood splatters dried into the fabric. Many Squad Nine officers were repulsed at its sight, horrified by the memories linked to it. Anger raged high from the discovery, demands were made to have it destroyed publicly for justice. Eventually it was burned and the ashes sealed in a jar, entrusted in the keep of Squad Nine lieutenant Shuhei Hisagi. He kept the whereabouts secret, a location know only to him and Captain Konamura._

_Days later, another object was unearthed from the ruins. Once again the Squads were in uproar from its sight. This time, a Zanpakuto. It’s blade was battered and it’s wrapping torn. Yet, it was unmistakable. Soul reapers visibly recoiled from its presence. Many refused to touch it, others could not bear to even look at it. Tension grew high once more, with the appearance of the blade many expected it’s owner to reappear as well to claim it back. It was passed around from location to location, no one willing to keep it too close for too long. Eventually the blade was lost, whether by accident or deliberately was never found out. Though several searches were conducted, it remained missing. No one admitted finding it, neither did they express disappointment at its loss. The blade’s trail grew cold and eventually disappeared._

_And much like the man who had once wielded it, it was forgotten._


	2. Young Upstarts

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This story is the first sequel to Stole. Kyoraku Emiko and Kuchiki Takahiro belong to Algernon Fenton. I owe Ayasegawa Yukihime 
> 
> Bleach of course belongs to Tite Kubo

**Twisted Zanpakuto**

**Chapter 1:**

It was a generally accepted rule within Gotei 13 for the Squads to rise at the same time each morning. Such a thing had never been written in the official rules, with the exception of the Academy rules of course. Nevertheless, as the Captains all rose for meetings at the same time each morning, the Squad officers rose with them in an unspoken routine. A notable exception to this rule was Squad 11. Rarely did anyone see a Squad 11 officer awake before noon. Captain Zaraki was well known for sleeping in, and since no one had the guts to attempt to wake him earlier than necessary the whole Squad adopted the habit of late rising. In recent times, however, this had changed. One member of Squad 11 was awake by sun up. The youngest of the squad, after its lieutenant Yachiru, was very much awake. Yukihime was running around the dojo, the too large sleeves of her flowery kimono flapping as she mopped the floor. As youngest she was unfortunately the lowest in rank. As such, that meant she often got assigned cleaning duties. Yukihime sat back on her heels, pausing her scrubbing of a very stubborn blood stain. She sighed heavily and wiped her forehead, several of her long white bangs were falling in her eyes despite the bandana she wore to keep them back. With a huff she pulled the bandana off, pushing her hair back and retying it in place. Although she loved her long hair, she couldn’t deny at times it was a nuisance. Carefully she rose to her feet and threw her cloth into a nearby bucket, picking it up and carrying it outside to change the water. Heavy bells began to ring in the distance. Yukihime looked up excitedly at the sound, dropping her bucket and spilling water on her feet. She knew those bells. They belonged to the Academy, every morning they rang to herald the start of the day. Yukihime giggled and ran through the puddle from the bucket, dashing back into the dojo and creating a trail of foot prints across the clean floor. She pulled off her bandana and yanked down her sleeves, grabbing her bokken from the wall and fixing it on her back. Squad officers were starting to emerge sleepily from their quarters; Yuki darted around them carefully and headed to the front of the barracks. Yumichika and Ikkaku were amongst the crowd of officers, the pair still half asleep as well. Yukihime headed straight for them,

“Morning Mama, Morning Dad!” she kissed each on the cheek “Gotta go! The bells are ringing!”

She ran off just as quickly as she had appeared. Ikkaku yawned and scratched his head in confusion,

“Bells?” he muttered “The hell is she bothered about bells for??”

Yumichika sighed heavily, shaking his head,

“Not again” he said, turning to follow his daughter. Yukihime by now had already left the barracks, running across the sandy path to the main gate. Her bare feet were covered in grit and dirt. While she had remembered her weapon she had not remembered to put on her sandals. Yukihime hid just inside the gate, looking up and down the street. Officers were passing back and forth, attending to their daily duties. Yuki watched them, looking around frantically. Laughter sounded from the top of the street, Yuki grew excited. Emiko and Takahiro were strolling down the path; their bright Academy uniforms a stark contrast to the black of the officers. Yukihime watched them approach, by this point she was almost shaking with excitement. She crouched a little, reaching over her shoulder to grab the hilt of her bokken in preparation. Takahiro and Emiko stepped in front of the gate; Yukihime leapt out and swung her bokken with a loud shout. Emiko darted back straight away, unsheathing her blade and swinging a counter attack.. Takahiro dropped to one knee, using the book he had been holding to block. Metal splintered wood as Emiko’s blade cracked Yukihime’s bokken, completely destroying the tip. Yuki dropped her ruined weapon and flash stepped behind the pair. She reached out and seized their hair, pulling out Emiko’s hair pins and Taka’s kenseikan. Taka’s hair immediately unwound from its tight braid, the red strands falling over his shoulders. Emiko frantically brushed her black curls from her eyes, anxious over the loss of her pins,

“You always steal those!” she shouted “It’s not funny anymore!”

“Yeah!” Takahiro agreed “You know how important my kenseikan are! If I break them my father will be furious!”

Yukihime merely rolled her eyes, muttering ‘mama’s boy’ under her breath as she handed the hair pieces back,

“I’m only playing with ya, I always give them back don’t I?” she walked past the pair and picked up her discarded bokken, examining the damage “Damm it, you busted my bokken again, Emiko”

“Well, what do you expect to happen if you swing a wooden sword against a metal blade?” Emiko smirked just a little as she pulled her curls back and replaced her hair pins. Takahiro remained silent besides her, frowning in frustration as he tried to re-braid his hair and place the kenseikan. Yuki rolled her eyes and dropped her bokken, swiftly plucking the hair pieces from him,

“Still haven’t learnt to do your own hair, huh?” she said, braiding it for him and clipping the elaborate kenseikan in place. Takahiro pouted a little, though he gave Yuki a little nod of thanks once she had finished his hair. Yukihime smiled back, picking up her bokken and resting it over her shoulder much like Ikkaku often did with his Zanpakuto,

“Yukihime, have you broken another bokken??"

Yukihime visibly flinched at the sound of her mother’s voice. Takahiro and Emiko used Yuki’s distracr to quickly hurried off to their Academy classes. Yukihime turned around slowly, lowering her bokken from her shoulder. Yumichika was stood behind her, his hands on his hips. He was looking at the cracked and splintered end of his daughter’s weapon. Yukihime followed her mother’s gaze. She blinked a few times then smirked,

“Collateral damage Mama” she said, grinning “I’m just showing those two who’ll be kicking their asses at the Academy next year”

She grabbed her bokken in both hands and held it horizontally, widening her stance and bending her knees to copy her father’s luck-luck dance. Yumichika sighed and took the bokken from her,

“You won’t be kicking any asses if you don’t pass the entrance exam” he turned and started walking back into the barracks “Or if you don’t learn to take care of your weapon”

“It’s just my bokken” Yukihime followed her mother, listening out for the sounds of her father training “I’ll just replace it again”

The pair walked into the dojo. Yumichika discarded the broken bokken with an exasperated look on his face. Yukihime saw Ikkaku involved in a brawl with several other officers, she giggled deviously and went to join in. Yumichika grabbed the back of her kimono and pulled her back,

“You’re missing the point, you won’t be able to replace your Zanpakuto as easily” he said “And besides, it won’t want to fight with you if you disrespect it like that”

“But you insult Fuji Kujaku all the time!” Yuki scowled, mentioning her mother’s Zanpakuto just to spite him. Yumichika’s eyes blazed furiously. He shook his daughter roughly by her collar,

“Don’t you dare sass me!” he shouted. Yuki continued to scowl, reaching back to try and pry her mother’s hands from her kimono. Yumichika kept his grip tight, angrily marching his daughter through the barracks and into the offices at the back. He opened the door to the records room and pushed her in,

“You can stay in here until you learn to control your tongue!” he snapped “Make yourself useful and sort these papers”

Yumichika turned on his heel and left without waiting for his daughter to reply, slamming the door closed. Yukihime stuck her tongue out rudely once her mother was out of sight. She turned away from the door and almost screamed. The room was stacked high with months of back logged paperwork. Piles were stacked on the floor, buried the desk, even stuck out haphazardly from the shelves. Yukihime clutched her hair and slowly dropped to her knees with a defeated moan.  
This was going to be absolute torture.

* * *

 The hours seemed to be dragging by. Yukihime had tried to be good, honestly she had. She had worked diligently to start with, making short work of the paper stacks on the floor and even taming one of the overflowing shelves. But, unfortunately, the young girl’s concentration and patience were much too short for office work. She had quickly grown bored, choosing to merely move stacks around to create space rather than file them properly. Even that had become tiresome. Yukihime was now sprawled on the office floor, staring up at the ceiling. She was surrounded by folded origami shapes, thankfully made from blank paper she had found (Although she was feeling anger towards her mother and the Squad she wasn’t stupid enough to start defacing official documents). Yukihime heaved a sigh and slowly sat up, a few paper shapes falling to the carpet. Shouting and screaming were drifting in from the nearby window. Yuki wandered over and looked out forlornly. The Squad were outside for afternoon training drills, which consisted mainly of Ikkaku thrashing officers in the training grounds instead of the dojo. Yukihime watched her father fighting, wishing she was out there with him. It wasn’t as though she hadn’t tried, of course. Yumichika had come to check on her a few times, usually dumping another stack of paperwork on her with his usual smug little smile (Yukihime loved her mother dearly but sometimes she wished she could smack that grin clean off his face). Each time he had checked in on her, Yuki had tried to follow him out of the office. Each time she had found the door blocked. After her third attempt she had finally figured out he was using kido to keep her confined. She was actually a little impressed he knew that kind of spell, Squad 11 didn’t view kido that highly after all. Unfortunately for Yukihime, although she had discovered the kido there was nothing she could do about it. She knew no kido herself, and neither was her reiatsu high enough to just break through it. Very briefly she considered the window, however, it was far too small even for her. Yuki didn’t think she could survive the humiliation of getting herself stuck. With a huff she flopped back onto the floor, this time face down. The door opened and closed behind her with a low creak. Yukihime ignored it, assuming it was her mother with yet more paperwork for her to sort. She closed her eyes, waiting for Yumichika to start berating her for making a mess of the office. A wall of intense spiritual pressure suddenly crashed down on her. Yukihime gasped and gulped for breath, her body effectively pinned to the floor. She managed to move her head a few inches, from the corner of her eye she saw Kenpachi. The Squad 11 captain was stood towering over her, Yachiru perched happily on his shoulder. The tiny lieutenant giggled at Yuki and waved at her,

“Hi Yuki-chan!” Yachiru beamed brightly, she stopped and blinked in pretend curiosity “What ya doin’ down there??”

Yukihime would have glared at Yachiru. Unfortunately she was still unable to move properly, only succeeding in giving a half hearted wiggle. Kenpachi gave a loud bark of laughter, his bells jingling as his head shook. He stepped over Yuki and examined the tidied shelf,

“This ain’t half bad, little mousie” he said, pulling a file from the shelf “Y’may be too weak for my Squad, but at least we can make a paper pusher out of ya!”

He roared with more laughter, Yachiru giggled along with him. He tucked the file under his arm and left the room. Yukihime grumbled into the carpet, hearing the fading echoes of the captain’s laughter. Once it had stopped completely she pushed herself shakily from the floor. A scream of frustration left her mouth. Yuki hated feeling this weak, feeling so unworthy of her Squad. She was the daughter of Ikkaku and Yumichika for kami’s sake! She should be running circles around the the other officers! Yuki sighed and flopped back onto the carpet, rolling her head back. She caught sight of the office door. It stood open, showing the hallway beyond. Yukihime lifted her head and stared at it. Kenpachi must have left it open when he had collected his file! Yuki stood up and hurried over, stopping just short of the threshold. She slowly reached through the doorway with one hand, waving her fingers in the air experimentally. The kido spell had been broken by the captain’s immense spiritual pressure. Yukihime was free. With a triumphant smirk she slipped through the open door and ran down the empty hall. Squad drills were finishing outside in the grounds, she would have to move quickly to avoid her mother. Yukihime managed to reach the mess halls before she heard the other officers. She could hear their faint voices as they began heading inside for showers and refreshments. Her father’s voice seemed loudest of all,

“I feel so lucky today! Yahoo!”

“Ikkaku shut up, you’re going me a headache”

Yukihime froze when she heard her mother’s voice, her body going numb for a few seconds. On instinct she bolted, sprinting through the barracks and out into the courtyards. The Squad officers waiting to head inside heard her commotion, turning in unison to stare at her. Yukihime panicked and backed away. A few officers began to shout for Ikkaku and Yumichika, the rest of the crowd moving towards her. Yukihime gave a yelp of fright and turned, looking for an escape. She spotted an overhanging roof edge. She wasn’t sure if she could flash step that far, but she had to try. Closing her eyes tight, Yukihime ran. She focused hard and forced her body into flash step, leaping high to the roof top. She missed by inches, clinging desperately to the edge. The shouts behind her grew louder, Yukihime ignored them and pulled herself up. Several tiles clattered to the ground as she scrambled up, darting towards the next roof. Officers were flash stepping towards her, their speed surpassing hers by far. Yuki forced herself to keep looking forwards as officers appeared around her. She flash stepped over and over again, pushing her body beyond its limits as she scrambled from rooftop to rooftop. Finally, she could go no further. Her strength ran out. The last flash step fell too short. Yukihime tried desperately to grab the roof edge. Her fingers brushed the tiles as she fell, closing on air. With a scream she dropped to the ground, landing with a sickening thud. For several minutes Yukihime laid where she had fallen, her eyes squeezed closed as she panted hard. Her legs and arms were burning, her body heavy from exhaustion. With a groan she flipped over to her back and opened her eyes. All she could see was sky and the edge of the roof. Neither held any clues to where she had landed. Yukihime groaned again. Very slowly she pushed herself to her knees and then shakily to her feet. Now upright, she took in her surroundings. The area was covered in sickly looking trees. They appeared twisted and broken, many of them were starting to rot away. The ground beneath them was as bare as the trees, just a handful of weeds bravely attempting to grow. Yukihime gingerly walked forward, wincing as her body continued to ache. The trees carried on a fair distance, though they all appeared as dead as each other. Yukihime found herself saddened by the sight. This grove must have been beautiful once. How had it fallen into such disrepair? Yukihime paused and leant on a nearby tree to catch her breath. A single spot of colour was flashing between the withered branches. Yukihime looked up curiously. A single, tiny orange fruit was clinging vainly to a branch. Yuki smiled at it, amazed something was still growing here. Gently, she reached out to touch it. The ground seemed to move under her feet, she yelped and stumbled forward. Yukihime looked down, something was hidden in the weeds at the base of the tree. She dropped to her knees, pulling at the plants. A single blade, rusted from age and covered in dirty wrappings, was stuck fast in the dirt. Yukihime’s eyes widened,

“A Zanpakuto?”.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Welcome grown up Yukihime! Our main character for this tale~ She's desperate to start her journey to becoming an officer of Gotei 13, she just lacks a little...common sense at times~
> 
> If anyone figures out where Yuki landed at the end of this chapter, well done~ You've figured out most of the plot of this story~

**Author's Note:**

> And lo, we have a sequel! *ta da!*
> 
> Okay, so I said I wasn't going to start this, the idea wouldn't leave me alone
> 
> This Prologue is just outlining a little history, hence it is short~


End file.
